Shell to appeal court ruling, cancels 2009 Beaufort Sea work

After analyzing the Nov. 20 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Shell said today that it has decided to file a petition for a rehearing to the full court. And because of the court’s decision, the company has decided to defer both its 2009 Beaufort Sea drilling and seismic programs.

“We believe the MMS performed a complete analysis of our exploration plan. That analysis prompted the agency to properly conclude that any impact from exploration activity in the Beaufort would have minimal impact on marine mammals and subsistence activities,” the company said in a press release.

Shell agreed with the dissenting judge that the court “exceeded its field of expertise, and in doing so, ignored the expertise of federal regulators. Furthermore, the court’s recent decision “places excessive requirements on any future exploration program.”

The reduced 2009 program “means hundreds of jobs associated with support for the operation, including marine mammal monitoring, communications centers and drilling operations, won’t materialize. It also means our overall Alaska operating investment will be reduced by tens of millions of dollars. This will have a direct effect on the communities of the North Slope and other areas of the State. Our current level of investment in Alaska is not sustainable given our inability to drill.”

See full story on the Nov. 20 court ruling in the Nov. 30 issue of Petroleum News online at http://www.petroleumnews.com/pnads/247889057.shtml.

—Petroleum News